We crossed the Prime meridian at about 2253 tonight and are back in the Eastern Hemisphere after a little over two months. Another great day of sailing! Not very fast but absolutely peaceful with a flat sea, gentle breeze and clear sky. Little wonder that the cook finally got inspired and whipped up a delicious Rissoto con gamberi e funghi. A nice lunch under the blue sky without wearing any woolens, washed down with a bottle of "Monsoon" beer from New Zealand followed by the mandatory siesta. Can life get any better! Tomorrow will be the last of the peaceful days after which the weatherman has fixed up a date with the Cape Town Doctor which would mean strong head winds and seas all the way to Cape Town!
79 comments:
Dear Dilip,
It sounds that you have had a great day out there. I have never been sailing but the flat sea and the nice meal sounds tempting for a short while. (I am a person who easy gets sea sick).
A blizzard is coming in over Sweden again. Brrrr!!
With the strong winds you will reach Cape Town in no time.
Take care and safe sailing.
Regards,
Ingrid, Tyreso, Stockholm
Hello Dilip
Peter and I (from the Gold Coast) are so enjoying following your trip.
Sounds absolutely delightful your description of such a special day at sea, complemented by a lovely relaxing lunch and then a siesta. You deserve such a respite! Wow, life certainly doesn’t get much better than that.
Keep a look out for some seals nearer to the Cape of Good Hope.
Good luck with the Cape Town Doctor … take care and we wish you a happy, safe and exhilarating sail into beautiful Cape Town.
Regards
Fay from the Gold Coast
हाय Dilip & Mahdei,
You really are enjoying your sailing voyage, aren't you?
नमस्कार!
Commander Donde,
It sounds like an outstanding day. Rissoto con gamgeri e funghi. Now that’s a mouthful to say. It also sounds delicious. And a Monsoon beer. That's the way to treat yourself. I hope that your meeting with the dreaded Cape Town Doctor isn’t too grueling. Just one final push and you get a well deserved break. We all really look forward to you updates, Dilip. Thanks so much.
From Seattle, WA, USA
SaltyDog
now why am i not sailing with you?
Hello Dilip
That sounds enchanting a delicious meal and an ice cold beer. I must say I do not concur with the rissotto fungi but salmon and prawn oh yes. Now I think I know what I am going to have for dinner tonight.
For a person from hot climes the cold weather would have dragged your whole body into the doldrums the closer to the tropics you get the more vibrant you will feel.
Good luck with the intense weather you are about to face.
Happy sailing
Cheers
Evie from Bendigo
Hello Dilip.
That sounds magic! I'm glad you are able to enjoy a beautiful day. All the very best for your rounding of the Cape of Good Hope.
Bluefin Annie, Buderim, Queensland.
Hey Dilip,
Wonderful - your blog oozes the serenity surrounding you yesterday!!!
JJ
I really wonder what you are going to write after your journey_ A report on circumnavigation or a receipee book!
Swatitai
Hi Dilip,
Sounds like you are on a wonderful holiday. I bet you enjoyed your Rissoto and beer.
Hope the Cape Town Doctor is not to rough on you.
Keep safe,
Joy
Ballarat.
Sir,
Welcome to Eastern hemisphere. Rissoto con gambiri e fungi is certainly a tongue twister, a nice name for menu cards that we often prepare during naval parties..and which leaves guests wondering in awe about mystery on what was printed on menu cards and what was served.
Hope lord Varun continues to be good to you and Mhadei. How long is the halt at cape town.
Hi Dilip. That's the way to go mate ! Give yourself a break and then DO IT IN STYLE !! Welcome to the eastern hemisphere. Some rissotto with Gamberi and Funghi and Monsoon beer is an appropriate start. I am sure the eastern hemisphere will be kinder to you, and hope the 'Cape Doctor' does not pay an extended visit.
Yeah Evie ! You have made me think of dinner tonight !
Keep enjoying your
travels. Steady sailing.
Richard (QLD) Aus
Hello Cdr,
A beer in the open sea.... reward for the hardships you've faced and overcame the gales
Sail safe n Regards
Hi..
Good to hear about the long strech of good weather. The Rice with prawns and mushrooms, sorry.. the Rissoto con gamberi e funghi sounds great.
Wishing you clear sailing all through Cape Town.
Hi Dilip,
What better way to cross an ocean. Beer fine food and doing what you enjoy.South Africa is great, hope you have time to take in a few spots ashore.
A.M Qld Australia
Hi Dilip,
What on earth is a "Rissoto con gamberi e funghi". Satyajeet seems to have decoded it. I think I'll also get some prawns as my mouth is already watering.
Wish you all the best going into Cape Town. Looks like non-stop may be a better idea next time. That way you can avoid certain areas.
BTW, one observation - of the about 08 months your entire circum will take you have spent only about 02 months in the western hemisphere. Is the eastern hemisphere really smaller !!!??!! or is the better part to be in, hence the longer time. Just a naughty thought.
Take Care,
Subir.
Hi Admiral Didl,
keep up them dodgers!
Jony the Pony
Hello Commander Donde,
It sounds positively idyllic out there!
Are you on a holiday cruise???
I think not, but one has to take whatever presents itself, so if it's fine eating and sunshine, all the better!
Hope that you have good sailing weather, but not too rough!
Keep well and safe,
Trudy, Austria/Australia
Hello Commander Dilip!
After the hard steering work before the Cape Horn, you have the idyllic holiday cruise! Enjoy! Your next leg, from Capetown to India, might be more demanding.
Please ask your Captain to compliment your Chef. Had I known the Menu of the Day, I would probably have flown down there to share that Risotto with you!!!
Take care and have a good end of atlantic ride to South Africa. This time, Mhadei should arrive totally shipshape!
Hi Dilip,
Sounded like you were dining at some upmarket restaurant there Dilip with a professionally cooked top notch meal with a bottle of Monsoon beer to wash it down. Also an idyllic setting with flat sea, gentle breeze and clear sky.
Nice just to kick back afterwards with a siesta. Good on you Dilip
:-).
I hope that the strong head winds predicted by the weatherman don't make it too bouncy for you out there.
Keep safe and take care. Warmest wishes from Jan Pace (Auckland, New Zealand)
Ciao Commander Donde!
Congratulations for crossing the prime meridian! I'm so glad for you!
Risotto con gamberi e funghi, beer (next time try it with wine) and siesta sounds like a great way to celebrate your return to the easter hemisphere!
Buon viaggio!
Marina from Turin
You are sailing really fast, more than 160 nm per day since Falklands! Well done!
Unfurtunately you won't reach the longitude of Cape Good Hope before Jessica does. She was yesterday at 39°06S 8°24E and will probably reach the Cape on Monday 22. You seems to be able to reach Cape Town (just north of the Cape) on Thursday 24.
It's like having a long car race between a sports car driven by a middle-age man and a jeep driven by a teenage girl. The girl wins since she goes nonstop and brings all fuel onboard, while the man in the sports car stops for refueling and repair every now and then.
Bengt "Ben" Larsson, Sweden
That is a fairly good comparison on top. But the Jeep sounds too torturous for me ! I will take the sports car anyday - thank you!
Hello Dilip,
welcome back to our half of this wonderful piece of rock we're on.
Are you sure you're down in the South Atlantic and not up in the tropics somewhere? Better check those co-ordinates ha ha!
Didn't think the weather could get any better than the last report, but there you are. Hmmm, top grub with a bottle of Kiwi booze. Hope the skipper was pleased with the effort. But, all good things do not last and it's back to the grind.
Hope 'mother nature' doesn't spring any unwanted surprises as you make the dash to Cape Town Dilip. Mhadei has performed like a real champion so far over this leg. A pat on the back for the skipper too for keeping his yacht in top condition.
So it's onward ho and hope that headwind doesn't last too long.
Take care and keep smiling.
Ben (Qld)
Hi Admiral Didl,
just keep up them dodgers!
Jony the Pony
catch her if you can :)
Congratulations on another landmark checked off (but shouldn't that be oceanmark?) :)
Days with flat seas, international cuisine and siestas make for saner sailors!
Namaste,
Susan in Oregon
Hello Dilip,
Sounds as though you're going to pay for your decadence and indulgence when the weather changes! No more haute cuisine and NZ beer - I'm surprised you didn't settle for a crisp NZ white! They're very nice.
Are you intending to pull into Cape Town? Hope you little lady holds up under the onslaught of the head winds. You'll have to talk nicely to her.
Best wishes
Toni
Adieu from the Western hemisphere!
The last time I checked your blog, you were battling cold, treacherous waters into Cape Horn.
So it is really nice to see you enjoying calmer waters, warmer climes and treating yourself to good food..
Oh, and would calling it झिन्गे भात be spoiling it? :-) I don't think so!
Proud of you in San Francisco.
Hi Admiral Didl,
how is them slamming into them waves?
You should be close to Jess by now...
A good shake up is always excellent for an improved enjoyement of solid soil under your feet.
So...
keep up them Dodgers,
Jony the Pony
Hi Dilip Bhai
"Rissoto con gamgeri e funghi", definitely takes the cake on your wonderful update. Sounds like you have a cook very much like meeee. Start cooking something north pole and end up south with all the Lat's thrown in. Perils of enjoying the sunshine while rice is turning into Risotto. Probably some Triphla in + box would have avoided the scare of Cape Doc.
Jessica is doing okay with her culinary experiments, with tinned beans as absolutely the last on her list of choices. That is pretty intelligent on her part considering the enclosed living space on EPL. The last thing you want out at sea is an explosive atmosphere. Wake up groggy, light the stove to have a cup of coffee and boom.
Not only a toughie sailor girl, our dear Jess is damn good upstairs too.
Dilip
Monsoon beer was the real topper.
Welcome back to the mystical East.
Ride the tail you will, so wishing you the best you wish for.
BRgds
Lalit
02-21-10 @02:22
Hi Dilip,
Well after that episode on your last post, (36 hrs of Gale force winds) I’m glad you finally got some good flat seas to run on. Having a good meal (I don’t understand what it is but as long as you’re enjoying it that’s what counts) followed by a good beer and then a siesta, yes what more could a man want….ha, ha, ha, I need to tell you that????
It sounded like your Shore Crew (tell tale) would much rather be out there sailing with you. Can’t blame him for that, but someone has to mind the store.
Yeah, Jessica’s scooting right along and very happy about it. She’s in a bit of a quandary about fixing something to eat with all of her second favorite foods. She’ll come up with something.
Just looked at the P/W chart and it doesn’t look to bad to Cape Town, but I have learned that those charts are not the most reliable, or it could be that I don’t understand them very well.
Smooth sailing to you Dilip, be safe and cautious, and enjoy yourself as much as possible. I do believe that if you are on the water then you are enjoying yourself…lol……My best to Mhadie!!!
Take care of yourself and always be cautious, you are in my prayers.
Michael(75)from Kingwood, WV (USA)
Hi Cdr. Donde,
Hope you are doing well and heading smoothly to Cape of good Hope. Are you going to stop there?
To Michael:
Pasta con gamberi e funghi is pasta with shrimps and mushrooms
Have a good week!
Ciao,
Marina from Turin
Hi again
To Michael..
I just found out that i gave you the wrong translation. Dilip cooked Risotto instead of Pasta.
Risotto is rice cooked with broth and sprinkled with grated cheese, you can cook Risotto in many ways, adding several things to it. He did it with shrimps and mushrooms.
Ciao,
Marina
@Marina
Yes, Mhadei is going to make her 4th stop in Capetown for several days, as planned, before the last leg of her voyage, non-stop to India...
Commander Donde is not only a solo circumnavigator on a all-indian built yacht, but also a kind of Ambassador for the Indian Navy; his three previous stops were in Australia, New-Zealand and the Faklands.
Hi Admiral Didl,
you are doing great!
keep up them dodgers,
Jony the Pony
Hello Commodore,
Sounds like you are enjoying your journey to the fullest and eating properly! although your funghi dish deserved a nice bottle of merlot in leui of beer.
@ richie paris- I believe his boat was made in norway??(or somewhere up there..lol)
safe sailing capt!!
susanh ny
@ susanh
The boat was built in Goa, India. the design is dutch though.
02-22-10 @ 21:57
Hi Dilip,
How’s everything going for you today, I hope you still have some good sailing weather. It looks pretty good on P/W.
Take care of yourself and good sailing to you. You are in my prayers.
Marina from Turin:
Thanks for the up-dates, either way it sounds good as long as there’s a good beer to chase it with. lol
Ciao,
Michael from Kingwood, WV
@susanh,
Tell tale is right. It is a Van De Stadt Tonga 56 design, built in India. You can see the design if you google it. It is available on the web.
Thanks Richie for the info, Im sure Commander Donde is a great Ambassador
and the Indian Navy is proud of him and proud of his accomplishment!
Safe sailing and fair winds Commander!
Marina from Turin
Eyyy Admiral Didl,
how is the drifting?
Any other life-forms on board?
Keep up them dodgers,
Jony the Pony
dear skipper. greetings from t66. welcome back to the familiar hemisphere. Or is it only a matter of time when u could say.... "ALL OF THE WORLD IS FAMILIAR PLAYGROUND( OR Waters!!!)" looking fwd to meeting up again!
@ tell tale...... your day will come buddy....keep the good work going!! take care
Sure sir, I have been condemned for the next round. For having so much fun. By the way, I too have crossed Cape Horn - from the other side.
@tell tale
thank you for the info, much appreciated !
Cmd dilip,
Do you and jesse write to one another about weather , coordinates, etc..? you two are pretty close so I thought I'd ask.
susan h ny
@tell tale ! Hi ! You seem to be Abilash Tomy, Dilip's crew and mate. Great blog and great pics mate ! You sure have a thing for photos !
So are you condenmed to do the next trip???? When ???
Eyyy Admiral Didl,
Keep up them dodgers, if you get my drift,
Jony the Pony
@ Susanh - Always a pleasure
@ Designer - If there is going to be another solo all fingers would point towards me. Condemned is the incorrect word because I cant wait to get off land. I was reminded of 'condemned' from the famous "because races 'condemned to .....solitude' did not have a second opportunity.........". I am ready since yesterday :)
Sorry for not signing my name
Abhilash Tomy
Hi Dilip,
Are you in Cape Town yet? Jesse has crossed 20 E and is now in the Indian Ocean.
Rex
Dear Dilip It seems that your empty time is cook's work shop Awaiting delicious dishes after your arrival Best wishes Subhashkaka
Dear Dilip It seems that your empty time is cook's work shop Awaiting delicious dishes after your arrival Best wishes Subhashkaka
@ Rex
He is not yet in Cape Town. he should be about 200 miles from CT sailing 120 a day
@tell tale. Thanks for the reply mate. All the best - I am sure another trip will come all - "somewhere, sometime". Wish you more fun in Cape Town ! And lets see some good pics of the place on your blog. Perth was very good. My favorite pic is the Pelican at the marina, which is also there on Dilip's blog.
Ciao.
@ designer
Thanks! There is always some pic or the other that people take a liking to. I have a whole load of pictures from Falklands which I will add soon.
@tell tale. Sorry to go on, but you guys seem to have a very intriguing set up !! You seem to be an AVIATOR ( a pilot ? what do you fly ?? ) and Dilip is a CLEARANCE DIVER. And you both seem to be in sailing big time. You also said you rounded the Horn from the other side. How come ????
How many "flights of fantacy" are you guys allowed to have ? Hope the are numerous !! Can I join your Navy ?
Look forward to the pics from Falklands. What about NZ pics ?
Eyyy Admiral Didl,
I fully agree with Mr. オテモヤン !
Keep up them dodgers,
Jony the Pony
Dear Sir,
Extremely proud of you!
Hello Dilip,
Gosh, wish we were on board. Any risotto is beautiful but yours sounds delicious.
When we visit India one day perhaps you can cook for my husband and I.
Stay happy and healthy.
Kind regards,
The McGraths, Nowra NSW
@ designer
The last few pictures are of NZ.
Yes I am an aviator. I fly recon aircrafts. Sure! come join us! I "rounded" Cape Horn when I was flying form Punta Arenas to Falklands to meed the skipper there. What do you do by the way.
@ Skipper - sorry for carrying on with this conversation here
HELLO... today is the 24th.. no post from you.... kahan ho bhaaii...
@tell tale,
Thanks for the reply mate. You sure have a good existence. Bless you !
I am an old sea dog. The sea was my first love, but my sailing days are over. I now pursue my other interests. One of them is appreciating good photography and good verse, as on your blog.
@ Dilip. Yeah hope you dont mind ! Your silence as given me the chance to catch up with your mate !
Wishing you both the best ! Fair winds and following seas ! And don't forget the photos.
I am sure this is a little presumptuous, but I am a tad concerned that Dilip hasn't posted for a few days. Is he in port somewhere wenching and drinking? Or is he having trouble with his boat? Anyone know?
Hi Admiral Didl,
I am disappointed that you always just seem to let Jessica slip away out there...
You should both meet up one day after sailing so long in each others wake...
keep up them dodgers,
Jony the Pony
@Anon- he is 86 miles from Cape Town. Should be either the traffic or excitement that is keeping him from writing. I am sure he will post something on arrival
Commander Donde,
It sounds like your friend Tell Tale has an interesting tale to tell and we would love to hear it. If Tell Tale won’t tell his tale to us maybe you will tattle tale on Tell Tale and tell us his tall tale in totality. What say you, Dilip? Enjoy your stop in Cape Town.
We really would like to hear more from you, Tell Tale. You sound very interesting.
From Seattle, WA, USA
SaltyDog
Hi Admiral Didl,
I don't think it really matters to you, but as I have been posting messages here I need to be consistent.
Someone has been abusing my name and has send emails to other people pretending to be me.
As from now I quit this blog. I wish you all the best with your circumnavigation and I am sure you will make it safely back to India.
keep up them dodgers,
Jony the Pony
Dear SaltyDog
You will get to hear the tale but I dont want to highjack this blog.
@ All
Cdr Dilip Donde arrived at Cape Town a couple of hours ago
Congratulations on making it!
@ tell tale. Excellent collection of Falkland photos on your blog.You look at life as if looking through a camera lens ! Hallmark of good composition !
You look very smart having dinner in uniform. Anymore ?
02-25-10 @ 09:21
Hi Dilip,
Just got word from your mate ‘Tell Tale’ that you had arrived at Cape Town, Congratulations on a safe trip. Hope everything went well.
Take care of yourself and always be cautious, you are in my prayers.
Michael(75)from Kingwood, WV (USA)
Commander Donde,
Congratulations on completing your next leg. Enjoy a little time off.
@Tell Tale, thanks so much for sharing the photos. Absolutely fantastic. And thanks for the updates on Dilips progress.
With warm regards,
From Seattle,WA, USA
SaltyDog
@ designer
"You look very smart having dinner in uniform"
Thank you very much for the compliments but I am behind the camera in that picture. :)
Hi Dilip,
Good to hear you've made into Cape Town successfully, enjoyed reading tell tale's entrees, and have a great time on land.
Dear Dilip,
Great show. Keep it up. All the best on the leg to Mumbai
Cdr G R balakrishnan
hello dilip, jessica watson is beating you to the race. hope you can do a soloround next time without stopping anywhere. here's to wishing you well as you head back to mumbai.
Awesome! Your story is inspiriring. Good luck!
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